I didn't like it at all. After a promising opening, it turned into just routine action stuff with the mandatory explosions. If they have to blow things up to get our attention, they can't have much in their bag of ideas. And why does the new woman, their government supervisor, have to look so much like the woman on the team who can make people do things? I know I'm going to get them mixed up, IF I ever watch again.

It was disappointing, wasn't it? Maybe it's the sophomore curse. The second episode of SG-1 was awful. The second episode of Farscape was terrible. I don't think Alphas can rebound the way those two shows did, but it might. Give it one more shot.

I was waffling. Couldn't decide after one episode, but the second was a real let-down. Dr. Rosen is the only character I can believe is real. The rest are just cartoon figures making a TV show, not real at all.

You've put your finger on the problem, Austin. David Strathairn's Dr. Rosen IS believable; we accept him as a real person. Unfortunately, he's alone. Look at successful shows like BSG, SG-1, NCIS, The Good Wife; they all have ensemble casts of highly individualistic people who complement each other well -- no confusing of characters there. Even in non-ensemble shows, stars-plus-support, it's the support that can make or break a show. I'm convinced a major reason Burn Notice turned out to be a hit is that it has the best supporting cast of all of USA's caper shows. And In Plain Sight is struggling for the opposite reason -- good star, weak support. Maybe the other Alphas will blossom in time, but so far it's all Rosen.

I was looking forward to Terra Nova until I learned Brennon Braga was one of the producers. He's the guy who just about blanded Star Trek to death. (Yes, verbing weirds language.) The top man in the executive chain for TN is Steven Spielberg. He doesn't have a very good track record in TV, does he?

What I remember about SeaQuest was that that state-of-the-art submarine had a swimming pool. And no matter what underwater gymnastics the sub had to perform, the water never sloshed out of the pool. Amazing.

Now it's Mare Winningham who shows up in Torchwood. I've always liked her, but I'm none too happy about the Americanizing of this show. Or maybe I just don't like the CIA agent Jack and Gwen have hooked up with. Too much of the bully in him. I'm sure Starz can always come up with more money than SyFy, but I wonder if Russell T. Davies made the right choice. However, the story they're telling is such a good one, I'll certainly stick with it. It's an old truism in the trade that all SF is either "What if...?" or "If this goes on..."; this current story seems to be both.

In case anyone hasn't seen the latest episode yet, I won't say what it is but only mention that the fate that befalls the Mare Winningham character is just about the cruelest I've ever witnessed on TV.